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Small doesn’t mean you are not happy and profitable. Not every business needs to be a large business to be successful. In fact, majority of businesses are small and profitable. Small means freedom and control. By leveraging the power of web, small businesses can effectively compete around the globe without setting a foot in the distance land.

Even at the local level, internet provides great opportunities to drive foot traffic to your shop or local office. All you have to do is to start with a good website and make sure the site is properly optimized for search engines.

Once the site is optimized, use the following tips to bring new customers to your business without spending a fortune. Start with a

Local search – Today, more than 80% of all in-store visits start online. It is particularly true for new customers whether they are prompted by Groupon types offer or searching for a new place to eat, they are increasingly turning to web for help. It is important your website show up high on local listings. Make sure your site is listed in the following places.

A. Google Places – it’s not only free to claim your business, you can add your hours, post coupons and get performance reports.

B. Google, Yahoo and Bing have increased their focus on small business and advertising options on the Internet – much of it local, so the options are opening up rapidly for this market segment. Now is the time to define, test and implement an online strategy for your small business!

C. Social Media – most small businesses benefit significantly from word-of-mouth recommendations.

Crowd-sourced Recommendations and Reviews-A good review on some of these sites increases the likelihood that you will see an uptick in business. As more people relying on these sites for recommendations, good ratings by customers can encourage others to make decisions visit your business. Monitoring these sites for comments and ratings help you improve services and address any issues that may be detrimental to your business.

• Yelp – You can find reviews for everything and they are already pulling in results from your Facebook network.

o CitySearch – they provide a mix of paid placements and reviews.

Set up a Twitter account –Once you are on Twitter, your fans will follow you, re-tweet your offers to friends and family members. If you provide a service, use it to establish your expertise by giving out tips and good advice. You can send “special of day” tweets to your followers. You be amazed, how many will show up because of your tweets.

Facebook fan page – it’s an easy way to interact with your most active brand loyalists and it works well for local business.

Facebook ads – the targeting options are fantastic. Why not test these ads for your target customer? You can drive them to your fan page for special promos or insider information.

Foursquare –Location-specific social! Establish a presence on Foursquare so that people can check-in! It will display to their followers where they are and maybe inspire a spontaneous meeting at your place of business.

All these tools are at your finger tips and most of them are free. Spend some time to understand how to harness the power of online marketing and social media for your small business. You be amazed how effective these tools can be in getting new customers and keeping regular happy.

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